Hey everyone,
I've been super quiet on here for a number of reasons, main ones being that I've just been up the walls since we hosted our first ever awards show The Gossies 2016.
To say they were a success would be an understatement, they completely superseded all of my expectations, and being honest it really still hasn't hit me how big of a success it actually was.
The wonderful Vogue Williams hosted the awards, which were sponsored by Enhance Medical and UTV Ireland were our official media partners on the night, airing three segments on the awards on their entertainment show The Pulse (which ended up being the most viewed episode ever with 116,000 people tuning in).
When Goss.ie was first born I had the idea for The Gossies, I really felt that Ireland was missing a young, modern but equally classy awards that recognised the best in the Irish entertainment industry as well as introducing new talent into the showbiz world.
I decided in December that I was going to finally do the awards, and that we would do them in February, against the advice of most people I know and peers in my industry.
Everybody said I wasn't giving myself enough time and to wait a year.
I hit the ground running in January, and worked my ass off every single day to secure a venue, get category sponsorship and to ensure nominees were able to come, arrange their transport etc.
I had a skiing holiday right in the middle of organising, and while all my photos on Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter were all of me hitting the slopes, I spent hours every day trying to make everything happen.
I had it in my mind from the beginning that UTV Ireland would come on board, and I didn't tell anyone that I was going to approach them because I knew people would only be negative.
But there was no circumstance in my mind where the first Gossies wasn't going on TV - and they did.
This post is about the reality of organising an award show like this but also to help people realise that anything really is possible when you put your mind to it.
An outsider who doesn't know me would never think in a million years that I could have pulled this off, but that's what people thought when I told everyone I wanted to be a journalist when I was 17, when I wanted to move to Dublin to get a job in a newspaper and when I wanted to start Goss.ie, most people told me not to get my hopes up, but I told myself it would happen and I wouldn't accept anything else.
My amazing Goss Team
The reality of all this, and I mean organising awards, setting up your own business at 24/25, is that yes there is a lot of stress. There are moments that are hard to take, days I don't want to get out of bed, but for all those moments there are thousands more where I feel proud of what I've achieved and I feel driven to achieve even more.
My biggest downfall is probably that I never think anything is enough, so although the last few months have shown Goss.ie to be a success, I will never feel like it's good enough, and that's why I am driven to do more, create more and be a better entrepreneur.
About 5 days before the awards, the day designer Eamonn McGill was doing a fitting with me for the gorgeous dress he made for me, I woke up with a rash all over my body. Turns out it was a stress rash and it only went away about two weeks ago, so it lasted over a month.
I was dealing with so much in my head my body went crazy, and I'll be honest that was absolutely shit and uncomfortable and being in 27 degree heat in LA for a week made it worse.
Red carpets: I was at events every night
But there I was in LA, going to the biggest Oscar parties, hanging out with my favourite people and brining exclusive content to Goss.ie that no other site had.
Anyone that truly knows me knows my love for LA. I previously covered the Oscars for a paper I used to work for, so this time going there and seeing a stand for Goss.ie next to E! News and Access Hollywood was unreal.
Every party, red carpet event we got to was all on the merit of Goss.ie and that's incredible.
Interviews: I spoke to Chris O'Dowd, JJ Abrams and more
One of the videos we shot over in LA with Daisy Ridley (from Star Wars) got nearly 90,000 views, which was bonkers but amazing none the less.
To be able to go to my favourite place in the world because all of my hard work was a dream come true, but I never gave up on my dream, and either should you.
So again for all the lows, the highs are always worth it. You just need to remember your goal no matter how bad of a day you are having.
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The Goss.ie journey is still in it's baby stages, we're only 21 months in business now, and it really is a short time - but I've achieved a lot and hopefully that will sink in soon.
There was a few moments at The Gossies that really have stuck with me, the guest presenters like Roz Purcell, Brendan Courtney and of course host Vogue Williams personally thanking me and my team was pretty overwhelming.
But probably the most important moment of all was when Mary Byrne was belting out A Man's World and I looked around the room and saw everyone singing and dancing and especially my family sitting at their table with my friends and looking so proud.
Any other entrepreneurs out there will know how hard it is to explain to the people closest to you why you are doing something that gives you sleepless nights, weeks with no money, a job that basically takes away your personal life, and can leave you with some really low days.
But that day was a good day, and it made all the hard days worth it. For once my family saw why it is I sit in front of a laptop all day, why I miss some family events, why I have no routine or stability in my life... and they finally got it.
Irish people can be pretty shit at supporting new ideas and ambitious people at the best of times, just don't let it get you down.
I'll still be doing this and driving for bigger and better no matter.
Just go and follow your dreams...
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Online Press for The Gossies:
